Month: February 2017

Full text of the address is available here.

This is an open thread.

Friday was the last day for bills in the state legislature to get out of fiscal or transportation committees. Budget bills are exempt from that cut-off. The next cut-off is 5 pm on Wednesday, March 8, when bills have be out of their original house.

33 transit-related bills survived Friday’s cut-off in the House.

Passed out of House:

House Bill 1018, by Rep. Tom Dent (R – Moses Lake) et al, would increase the maximum amount the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) can provide to an individual sponsor in a single Airport Aid Grant Program grant from $250,000 to $750,000. The bill passed out of the House 97-0-0-0 on February 1, and heads next to the Senate Transportation Committee.

Engrossed House Bill 1188, originally by Rep. Steve Bergquist (D – Renton) et al, would requires a child to be properly secured in a rear-facing child restraint system until the age of 2 or until he or she reaches the seat manufacturer-set weight and height limits (while in a moving automobile required to be equipped with a safety-belt system), would require a child not secured in a rear-facing seat who is under the age of 4 to be properly secured in a forward-facing child restraint system until he or she reaches the seat manufacturer-set weight or height limits, and would Requires a child not secured in a forward-or rear-facing child restraint system who is under the age of 10 to be properly secured in a child booster seat until he or she reaches the seat-manufacturer-set weight or height limits. The bill was amended on the House floor and then passed out of the House 69-28-0-1 on February 20. A floor amendment by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R – ), would require the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to produce and disseminate informational and educational materials that explain the proper use of child restraint systems, the safety risks of not properly using child restraint systems, where assistance on proper installation and use of child restraint systems can be obtained, and the penalties for not properly using child restraint systems.

SHB 1199, by the House Judiciary Committee, and originally sponsored by Rep. Morgan Irwin (R – Enumclaw) et al, would give youth courts with jurisdiction over traffic infractions jurisdiction over transit infractions as well. The committee amendment would have youths not be referred to a youth court if they have had a prior transit infraction, are under the jurisdiction of any court for unlawful transit conduct, or have convictions for unlawful transit conduct. Youth courts are for 16- and 17-year-olds only. The bill passed out of the House 98-0-0-0 on February 9, and heads next to the Senate Human Services, Mental Health & Housing Committee. The companion bill, SB 5203, was amended in that same committee on February 6, and is sitting in the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 1262 by Rep. Joan McBride (D – Kirkland) et al, would increase the minimum width for an access aisle located adjacent to an accessible van parking space from the current 60-inches mandate to 96 inches in all cases. The access aisle must be in addition to the adjacent van parking space, however, two van parking spaces may share a common adjacent access aisle. A sign will be required at the head of each access aisle that prohibits parking in the access aisle. The bill passed out of the House 97-0-0-1 on February 15, and next heads to the Senate Transportation Committee.

Substitute House Bill 1273, by the House Transportation Committee, and originally by Rep. Cindy Ryu (D – Shoreline) et al, would authorizes the Department of Licensing (DOL) to issue nondomiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) and Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs) to individuals domiciled in a foreign country if they provide valid documentation that they are authorized to stay or work in the United States and meet certain specified federal requirements, would authorize DOL to issue nondomiciled CDLs and CLPs to individuals domiciled in other states that are out of compliance with federal CLP and CDL requirements if they meet certain specified federal requirements, and would require the nondomiciled CDL and CLP to be marked “non-domiciled” on its face. The substitute bill passed out of the House 82-15-0-1 on February 20.

HB 1615, requested by WSDOT, and sponsored by Rep. Shelley Kloba (D – Kirkland) et al, would adjust relocation assistance limits upward for owners and tenants displaced by WSDOT property acquisitions to be in line with similar assistance limit updates in the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The bill passed out of the House 91-6-0-1 on February 16, and heads next to the Senate Transportation Committee.

Passed out of House Transportation Committee: Continue reading “60 Transit-Related Bills Survive Fiscal Committee Cut-off”

Beginning Sunday, March 12, Community Transit will add 40 new weekly trips on 11 routes, increasing late-night service on two major corridors, adding mid-day frequency in Lynnwood and expanding DART paratransit service hours. As we reported last year, the trips will combine for a total of 6,300 hours, and will be followed by a large service change planned for September 2017.

New late-night weekday service is planned for two routes on the Highway 99 corridor (the Swift Blue Line and Route 101), the Marysville area (Routes 201 and 202), and on local service to Mukilteo (Route 113) and Mill Creek (Route 115). New mid-day weekday trips on Routes 119 and 120, both serving the southwestern portion of Snohomish County, will boost all-day frequency from hourly to half-hourly.

Full list of changes after the jump. Continue reading “Community Transit Adds Late Night Trips on March 12”

• Sen. Dino Rossi sponsoring anti-Sound Transit, anti-tolling bills straight out of 2000.
• Pierce Transit starting a bus from downtown to Pt. Defiance this June.
• Burke-Gilman missing link ($) lurching toward a conclusion.
• Seattle Council unanimously approves U-District upzone ($) after O’Brien, Sawant, and Herbold fail to water it down.
• Urban planning workshops over the next week for TIBS and the CD.
• Mountlake Terrace Council upset with ST about art projects, parking, and an optional infill station.
• Olympia will clear up the Sound Transit boundary property tax issue.
• 2016 ST system ridership up 23% from 2015.
• More Sounder parking coming to Auburn.
• Kitsap Transit hashes out fast ferry subsidies and reservations.
• The maintenance ST does on New Year’s Eve that requires a 1 AM shutdown.
• TriMet GM calls for Southwest Corridor light rail, and three highway projects.
• TriMet also restructuring some bus service.

This is an open thread.

Seattle’s transit service winds down around 1 AM on most nights. The evenings of July 4th and December 31st, with big crowds (drunkenly) watching late fireworks, are two nights where that seems less than adequate. Metro is typically reluctant to add additional trips that are hard to usefully publicize, and Sound Transit sticks to its required 4-hour Link maintenance window, even on special occasions.

Nevertheless, King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove introduced legislation requiring King County to look into expanded Metro service on these nights. The bill (full text here) would require a report by June 1st, 2017 to discuss service options, peer agency comparisons, funding sources, and coordination opportunities.

The Council referred the bill to the Transportation, Economy, and Environment (TREE) committee, which will hold a hearing on March 7th. Full text of the bill below the jump.

Continue reading “Metro May Consider Later Service on Holidays”

Last Friday was the final day for bills in the State Legislature to get out of a committee, with the exception of fiscal and transportation committees, and bills necessary to budgets.

Fifteen bills related to housing supply passed out of a House committee by yesterday’s cut-off.

House Bill 1085, sponsored by Rep. Brian Blake (D – Longview) et al, would permit cities and counties to eliminate any minimum floor space requirements for single family detached homes, or reduce any such standards below any minimum standards in the State Building Code. The bill passed out of the House Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs (CDHTA) Committee 7-0 on February 1. It is currently in the House Rules Committee, waiting to be placed on the second reading floor calendar.

Substitute House Bill 1514, by the House Judiciary Committee, and originally sponsored by Rep. June Robinson (D – Everett) et al, would require, with limited exceptions, that a landlord under the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act provide 18 months notice of closure or conversion. Exceptions would include when the property is taken through imminent domain; when the property is sold to a tenants’ organization, a local government, a nonprofit, or a housing authority that preserves the housing; or the landlord compensates the tenants for the loss of their homes at their assessed value prior to a change of use or sale of the property. The committee amendment reduced the notification time from 3 years to 18 months. The substitute bill passed out of the House Judiciary Committee 8-5 on Thursday. It is currently in the House Rules Committee. The committee report detailing testimony was not available at time of publication. The companion bill, SB 5520, failed to get a hearing in the Senate Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee.

A group of protesters from The Firs Mobile Home Park, which is slated to be replaced with apartments and hotels, protested at the Angle Lake Station opening celebration. Per KUOW coverage, the landlord is arranging an alternative location for current tenants of the mobile home park. Under current law, mobile home tenants have a right to a one-year lease. Continue reading “24 Housing Supply Bills Survive First Cut-off in Olympia”